RaleighSS

If ya could only 2 SKF bearings at a time .... would you do fronts / rears / Left side / Right Side / 1 L 1 R ???? just wondering .. typical HPDE car up and down the east tracks....

troyguitar

More weight and more heat from the brakes at the front, I'd do both fronts.

zigspeed10

Fronts. When I was running stock replacement bearings, the fronts would die faster than the rears. I guess they take more abuse from the brake heat.

crease-guard

Fronts.

CHJ In Virginia

I disagree with the above posters. In the last two years, I personally saw three different hub failures - 2 at VIR and 1 at Summit. ALL THREE WERE REAR HUBS !! Two were passenger side and 1 drivers side. IMHO put them on the rear !

5280Racer

looks like your getting all 4 !!!

RX-Ben

Did the actual hubs fail or did the bearings wear out?
I'm not sure if the hubs in the SKFs are any stronger than OEM.

JerryTX

For what it's worth, I installed 4 brand new SKF Heavy Duty hubs at the same time on my C6 track car 23 months ago. They lasted almost 2 seasons, but the driver's rear ABS sensor was flaky, causing ABS issues 3-4 laps into each ignition cycle. That started in September and I chased it thinking it was wiring and EBTCM. Fast forward to two weeks ago, I traveled to Houston for the NASA TX season opener. Normally I travel with spares but I forgot them at home. Jay (crease-guard) saved my bacon by loaning me a spare, thanks again sir!! Hub was fine, ABS sensor crap.

My vote: Rear

Olitho

My experience is that the OEM flanges crack on the front vastly sooner than on the rear.

froggy47

My rear stock ones always wear out first, c4 and c5z, I would replace rears.

RX-Ben

I have found that the wire used on the SKF ABS connectors is not that great (one wire simply cracked in two). I have rebuilt a few, adding in teflon (very high temp) wire.
If you are regularly tracking, wrapping the wire in heat shielding is a good idea (I think), though a bit of the heat surely comes through the wire's copper, from the hub.

CHJ In Virginia

If you see a side by side comparison - OEM / SKF it is apparent that the SKF is a MUCH stouter, more strongly built unit. Some one posted pics a while back.
Two of the failures I saw were the flange actually separating from the body of the hub. They broke at the weld point. The rotor / wheel was held in place only by the caliper bracket. Both cars made it into the pits without major problems. The third was a bearing failure. Rotating the OEM hub it sounded like the bearing was full of sand !

argonaut

I may have been the one at Summit - broke rear drivers side coming out of turn 9 at the NASA event on Nov 3rd. I was over near you asking Jack M. for tools (34 mm socket)...LOL. But, in my case - the fronts were already SKF and the rears were originals from '99 with about 65 track days on them (yikes!).

Although its possible the rears may take more abuse and fail sooner (but the results noted above are not conclusive), IMO *IF* I could only afford two SKF hubs I'd do the fronts. If they do break - I'd way rather the rear break than the fronts. In my case, the rear failure was almost a non-event - the motor overreved for a moment then the LSD caught - I just slowly went up the hill and into the pits.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

The fronts take far more load than the rears. Now if the fronts are new and your rears are used...yeah I would either move the fronts to the back and put the SKF's on the rear or just put them on the rear and get fronts when they wear out.



What we have seen for life on track using slicks on our Corvette's both World Challenge and GrandAm.

OEM bearings 5-8 hrs on track

GM 'Race' bearings 12-18 hrs on track

SKF HD bearnings 36-38 hrs


As with any electronics on the car you need to make sure the wires are supported and not being pulled or pushed to much. Zip ties and wire mounts are your friend!

dbratten

Bend over and replace all four. I had a driver's rear go out one weekend and then the driver's front the next weekend. The second weekend resulted in coming home on a trailer. I ordered SKFs that evening.

Which ones wear out is going to depend on the tracks/courses you run. Lost track time costs money. Breaking and crashing is even more. My breaks occurred at lower speeds. Be safe.

--Dan

RaleighSS

yea that's probably the best thing

dbratten

Here's what one OEM looked like with a full circumference break --



And here's a shot of the disassembled rear during replacement where I found it much easier to remove the spindles by popping off the ball joints and tie rods to be able to work on the hubs out in the open with air tools or a vice.



On the rear I left the upper a-arm attached as it doesn't affect alignment. Either way.

On the front, I popped the ball joint and left the a-arm in place as I have shims up there as I use the camber plates for alignment.

--Dan

RX-Ben

Sounds about right. I've only seen that cracked flange on an OEM hub.

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

Not the only selling point...but FYI for those of you running our billet drop spindles. You can change front and rear wheel bearings without removing the upright, or even breaking a ball joint loose. The bearing is located far enough up that it clears most socket bits to pull it out.

Made my life that much easier at the track for a bearing change

Bink

Anthony - which of the above 3 are on your website - the SKF HD??

Anyone have a pic of all 3?? Basically what's the visual difference between GM race bearing and the SKF HD??